Propulsion of boats



(No Model'.) 3 Sheets-Sheet I.

F. M. MARQUIS.

PROPULSION 0F BOATS.

Patented A r. 17, 1883.

1 Yz 121255 a s.-

3 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

P. M. MARQUIS.

PROPULSION 0F BOATS.

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FRANCIS M. MARQUIS, OF ZANESFIELD, OHIO.

PROPULSION OF BOATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 276,144, dated April 17, 1883.

' Application filed January 4, 1883. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, F.1d. MARQUIS, ot' Zanesfield, in the county of Logan and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Propulsion of Boats; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, ,which form part of this specification.

My invention relates to an improvement in the propulsion of canal-boats and other craft; and it consists, first, in an air-tight compartment or chamber, which is formed'in the boat at any suitable point, and which is connected to an air-compressingpump,whereby the pressure ot'the air upon the top of the water will serve to raise the boat upward, and which chamber is adapted to have the walking-wheels raised up into it; second, in the combination of the walking-wheels, which are journaled in suitable pivoted frames, and which are held in position in relation to the bottom of the boat by means of a cord, wire, or cable, which is provided with a spring and a catch, whereby the wheels can be caused to become embedded in the bottom of the canal and propel the boat, and raised into the recess in the bottom of the boat when desired; third, in the combination of the boat with side wings which are connected thereto, the wings forming channels,

which receive propeller-screws at their front ends, and which channels are wider and of less depth at their rear than at their front ends; fourth, in the arrangement and combination of parts, which will be more fully described hereinafter.

The object of my invention is to provide a boat which can be propelled through a canal without washing the banks, which will set as high upon the water as possible, so as to pass over shallow places, in which the propelling screws and wheels can be raised and lowered at the will of the operator, and which is adapted for navigation in both shallow and deep waters.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a plan view of a boat embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is an inverted riew of the same. Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section. Fig.

at is a vertical cross-section. Figs. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 are detail views.

A represents a boat, which may he of any shape, size, or construction that may be preferred. Formed in any suitable part of the boat is the chamber B, which may be of any size desired, and into which air will be forced by means of a suitable air-pump or other engine, for the purpose of causing a pressure upon the top of the water, which will force the water downward as low as possible in the air-chamber, and which compressed air at the same time will serve to raise the boat upward, and thus cause it to set as high as possible upon the water. By thus compressing the air in. this chamber and raising the boat upward, the boat can be made to run in shallower water and pass over shoal places, which otherwise cannot be crossed. This chamber also serves to receive the walkingwheels, as shown, and is provided with a manhole through its top, so that aworkman can go down to the wheels at any time to repair them in case of breakage or other accident. This man-hole must be packed air-tight, so that no air can escape through it. When repairing the walking-wheels or any of the ma chinery in the air-chamber it is necessary to draw them up into the air-chamber, and to close the bottom thereof before opening the man-hole. In order to accomplish this, I pro vide the bottom of the boat with two slides, A, which are secured in parallel ways A and provided with straps or cords A by means of which they can be operated. These straps, cords, or chains pass through air-tight packings before emerging on deck; or they may be run up through pipes that extend above the water-line, as may be preferred. The operation of the devices will be readily understood from the foregoing description, and by refer ence to Figs. 2 and 3 ot' the drawings.

' In order to meet the requirements of different kinds of navigation, it is designed to provide the boats with two separate and distinct means for driving the propelling-wheels. I will describe first the means employed in navigating canals or shallow streams.

Upon the top of the air-chamber isjournaled, in any suitable bearin gs or supports, the main driving-shaft G,which has a spur-wheel, D, up-

on one end and a sprocket-wheel, E, upon the other. 1 Over the sprocket-wheel will be passed a driving-chain, F, which passes around a second sprocket-wheel, G, which is secured to the end of the drivingshaft H, which passes through the air chamber B. Over this shaft-H is slipped a collar or sleeve which has the sprocket-wheels I secured to it. This sleeve is secured to the shaft H by means of a setscrew or any other suitable means. The two wheels-I may be formed as a part of the sleeve; or they may be secured rigidly to it, as may be preferred. From each of these sprocket-wheels I extends a driving-chain, K, in opposite directions, each one of which drives one of the walking-wheels L. Each of these walkingwheels is journaied in a swinging frame, M, the inner ends of which are pivoted on the innerends of the hollow bearings M, that extend through the walls of the chamber B on the inner side, and in which hollow bearings the driving-shaft H is journaled, as shown at Fig. 5. Both of these wheels are journaled in' swinging frames, so that they can be raised and lowered in respect to the bottom of the boat so as to be raised above the top of the water, or to be lowered so as to cause the paddies to work againstthe bottom of the canal,

and thus propel the boat. In order to keep these wheels in any desired position, a pulley, N, isjournaled in the bottom of the boat, and another pulley, O, is journaled upon the top of the air-chamber B. Around these pulleys is passed a suitable cord, wire, or cable, Q, which has its ends connected to the pivoted wheel-frames, as shown. By moving the cord, wire, or cable in one direction the wheel will be raised up into the boat, and when moved in the opposite direction the wheel will be do pressed to any suitable extent. This cord, wire, or cable must work air-tight through the top of the air-chamber B, so that no air can escape at this point. In order that the wheels may be self-adjusting, in case the boat has to pass over a bar, each of the cords, wires, or cables is provided with a spiral or other suitable spring, It, which will allow the wheelframes to yield to any pressure from underneath, and thus raise upward and allow the wheels to conform to any inequalities in the bottom of the canal without ceasing to work. At the upper end of this spring will be attached a suitable cross-piece, S, which catches in notches formed in the top or in the sides of the plates T. The function of these springs is to keep the wheels normally pressed down in contact with the bottom of the canal.

As heretofore described, the driving-wheels L are provided with open spaces between the paddles and the shaft, which form of wheel is to be used in slack-water navigation, where the paddles are embedded in the mud as the boat advances, the open spaces serving to let the water pass through, and thus avoid the resistance that would be opposed if the wheels had solid paddles extending clear to the shaft,

as represented in Fig. 7; but when the boat is to travel in water too deep to allow the wheels to operate on the bottom, such solid paddles are used, in which case the frames M will be raised high enough to only allow the lower sides of the wheels to work in the water, and they will be run at much higher speed than when walking-wheels were employed. In order to gain this increase of speed, the sprocketwheels and chain will be disconnected from the driving-shaft, and the pinion U, which is journalednpon the pivoted or swinging frame V, will be thrown into gear with the spur-Wheel D. This pinion in turn can be made to mesh with the spur-wheel W, secured to the drivingshaft. The pinion serves as an idle-wheel, so as to cause the spur-wheel W to revolve in the same direction as the spur wheel D and sprocket-wheel G. When this pinion is th rown into gear it is locked in position by means of the latch X.

Upon the driving-shaft O is placed a gearwheel, Y, which meshes with the pinion Z upon the driving-shaft 1. This gear-wheelYis connected by a suitable clutch to the drivingpulley 2, which may be connected to a steamengine or motor of any kind. Upon the front end of the driving-shaft 1 is secured a spurwheel, 3, which has a driving-pulley formed. as a part of it, and which spur-wheel 3 meshes with a similar spurwheel, 4, which also has a pulley formed as a part ofit. Passingaround each of these pulleys, which form a part of the spur-wheels, are the driving-belts 5, which extend outward in opposite directions, pass over suitable guiding-pulleys, 6, in the outer ends of the frame 7, and then pass down and around a suitable pulley, 8, formed upon the short driving-shafts 9. These shafts are .journaled in water-tight boxes 10, which are secured to the outer sides of the boat, and the belts are thus protected from getting wet. Belts are preferably employed; but an yother well-known means of transferring the power may be used. Either short shafts may be used or one continuous shaft, to which the propeller-screw 11 is directly attached. If a short shaft is used, it will be connected by a ball-and-socket joint with the propeller-shaft; or if a long shaft is used, it may be passed through a suitable tight stufling-box. Where short shafts are used with ball-and socket joints the front ends of propellers may be raised and lowered to any desired extent or moved to either side, so as to assist in steering the boat. These propelling-screws are preferably formed with the blades slightly curved, so as to force the wa ter to the center of the screws, and thus avoid the vacuum and consequent loss of propellingpower that otherwise ensues.

By the use of the guards the action of the screws in contracting and compressing the water between them and the sides of the boat serves as a buoy and causes the boat to draw less water when in motion than when it is still, thus materially increasing the tonnage. As represented in the drawings, the guards are narrow at the bow and broad at the stern, and are secured to the sides of the boat at an angle to the bottom. thereof, being higher at the bow than at the stern. The object obtained by thus forming the guards is to cause the stern 'of the boat to rise higherin the water than the bow when it is in motion, thus offering much less resistance to the water than when the bow is higher than the stern, as is usually the case, and enabling greater speed to be attained. The boat is provided with the projecting gunwales A, which extend out far enough beyond the sides of the boat to prevent the guards from rubbing against the sides of the1ocks,as shownat Fig. 8. I

1 do not desire to limit myself to the precise forms of construction herein described, as it is obvious that many changes and modifications may be made in them without departing from the spirit of my invention.

' Having thus described my invention, I claim- 1. An air-chamber formed within and extending below the bottom of the boat, in combination with an air-compressor, which is attached thereto, and the walking-wheels, which pivoted frames for the wheel, cords, wires, or

chains for raising and lowering the frames, springs connected to the cords, wires, or chains, and catches or stops to hold the frames in any desired position, substantially as specified.

4. The combination of a boat with the side wings, which are attached thereto, the Wings forming channels which are wider and of less depth at their rear than their front ends, substantially as shown.

5. The combination of a boat with the side wings, which are connected thereto, and the screw-propellers placed at their front ends, the wings forming channels which are wider and of less depth at their rear than their front .ends, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses. I

FRANCIS M. MARQUIS.

Witnesses:

FRANK (J. WADE, EDWIN M. 800m. 

